Page 1111 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 3 May 2006
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encouraging to see the Leader of the Opposition acknowledge that the government will be giving consideration to the health budget, to the education budget, to the budget for emergency services and to the budget for tourism and business. There is not much else left in the context of government service delivery once one deals with those four major areas of government expenditure.
Health on its own comprises a quarter of the entire budget. It is somewhat of a revelation to have the Leader of the Opposition acknowledge that, in delivering a budget, the government will be paying attention to issues on health—in other words, a quarter of the entire spend that will be incorporated within the budget.
I am not going to engage in an essentially fruitless exercise of ruling in or ruling out or confirming this or confirming that. A budget is being developed and will be delivered on 6 June. The cabinet is giving detailed and the most rigorous assessment of each of the government’s priorities. In that context it is relying on detailed briefings and advice from across our public service, as one does, on a range of expenditure initiatives and other initiatives that have been developed.
On each significant work, a cost-benefit analysis, case studies and business cases have been developed on a range of new policy initiatives and proposals on efficiencies and how to ensure that we have the capacity to meet the challenges which the community faces in meeting the growing expectations of the community, the growing need and gaps in need that will develop, particularly in relation to ageing and health, and the need for us to concentrate on necessary infrastructure and planning for the future of the territory.
In that context, it needs to be acknowledged that over the last four years we as a government have produced consecutive surpluses to the tune of approaching $250 million. In keeping faith with our commitment to ensure that we deliver a budget surplus, we have done it significantly since being in government. It remains our commitment to ensure that we maintain our commitment—a commitment which we have met most significantly since coming to government. And we have met it despite the need for us as a government to meet those major shortfalls in expenditure which we inherited from the Liberals during their period in government.
I still think that perhaps the greatest shock, surprise and disappointment which greeted us and was revealed during the first treasury briefing which was provided to us when we came to government in 2001 was the lack of any forward estimate provision for wage increases for the ACT public service. It is a measure of that government’s duplicity and the approach which the Liberal Party in government took to its forward estimates and the essential truth of its forward estimates that it did not make any significant provision for pay offers that it had made, let alone that it had no intention of keeping.
MR SPEAKER: The minister’s time has expired.
MR SMYTH: Chief Minister, do you stand by your statement in this place on 15 November 2005 that the government will not abandon any of its election promises in health and education that remain outstanding?
MR STANHOPE: Returning to the point I was making—
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